beamer-slides-teaching

Beamer Slide Generation — UTS House Style

Compiler requirements

• Always compile with pdfLaTeX (not XeLaTeX or LuaLaTeX)
• Do NOT use fontspec — it is incompatible with pdfLaTeX
• Use \usepackage[T1]{fontenc} and \usepackage{lmodern} for fonts
• If the user mentions Overleaf, remind them to set the compiler to pdfLaTeX in the Overleaf project settings

Document structure

Use the standard preamble from assets/uts-beamer-preamble.tex as a starting point. The basic structure is:

\documentclass[aspectratio=169]{beamer}
\usetheme{Madrid}
\usecolortheme{whale}

\usepackage[T1]{fontenc}
\usepackage{lmodern}
\usepackage{booktabs}
\usepackage{graphicx}
\usepackage{hyperref}
\usepackage{amsmath}

\title{Title Here}
\author{Author Name}
\institute{University of Technology Sydney \\ Faculty of Business}
\date{\today}

\begin{document}

\begin{frame}
\titlepage
\end{frame}

\begin{frame}{Outline}
\tableofcontents
\end{frame}

% Content sections and frames here

\end{document}

Slide design principles

• One key idea per slide — if you need two ideas, use two slides
• Use \begin{itemize} sparingly — prefer short declarative statements or a single key claim followed by supporting evidence
• Avoid walls of text; aim for no more than 5-6 lines of content per slide
• Include source citations on any slide showing data, charts, or statistics
• Frame titles should be informative, not generic ("Treatment Effect on ROA" not "Results")

Table formatting

Always use booktabs for tables in slides:

\begin{frame}{Summary Statistics}
\begin{table}
\centering
\small
\begin{tabular}{lccc}
\toprule
Variable & Mean & Std. Dev. & N \\
\midrule
ROA       & 0.045 & 0.089 & 12{,}340 \\
Leverage  & 0.312 & 0.201 & 12{,}340 \\
Firm Size & 7.21  & 1.84  & 12{,}340 \\
\bottomrule
\end{tabular}
\end{table}
\end{frame}

Use \small or \footnotesize for tables to fit slides. Use {,} for thousand separators in numbers.

Teaching slides — special conventions

Discussion questions

Tag every discussion question with its Bloom's taxonomy level in a LaTeX comment so the instructor can gauge cognitive demand at a glance:

\begin{frame}{Discussion}
% [Bloom: Evaluate]
\textbf{Question:} A mining company's CEO argues that voluntary ESG
reporting is sufficient and mandatory disclosure would harm competitiveness.
\vspace{0.5em}

Evaluate this claim in light of the ASX Corporate Governance Council's
``if not, why not'' approach. What are the strengths and weaknesses of
each model?
\end{frame}

Bloom's levels: Remember → Understand → Apply → Analyse → Evaluate → Create. Aim for a mix across a lecture, with more weight on the upper levels.

Case study slides

Structure case study material as: Context → Tension → Question

\begin{frame}{Enron: The Gatekeepers}
% Context
Arthur Andersen served as both auditor and consultant to Enron,
earning \$52M in fees in 2000 alone.
\vspace{0.5em}

% Tension
The dual relationship created a financial incentive to preserve the
client relationship at the expense of audit independence.
\vspace{0.5em}

% Question — [Bloom: Analyse]
\textbf{What structural features of the audit market enabled this
conflict, and how have post-SOX reforms addressed them?}
\end{frame}

Australian governance content

When slides cover corporate governance topics, reference these frameworks where relevant:

• ASX Corporate Governance Council — 8 principles, "if not, why not" model
• Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) — directors' duties (ss 180-184)
• ASIC — market conduct regulator
• AICD — director education and governance guidance
• APRA — prudential regulation (for financial institutions)

Always contextualise Australian governance comparatively — note how the principles-based "if not, why not" approach differs from rules-based regimes (e.g., SOX in the US).

Multiple choice questions

When generating MCQs for teaching, follow these conventions:

\begin{frame}{Quick Check}
Under the ASX CGC Principles, a listed company that does not comply
with a recommendation must:

\begin{enumerate}[(a)]
\item Pay a fine to ASIC
\item Explain why it has not complied in its annual report
\item Seek shareholder approval for the non-compliance
\item Delist from the ASX within 12 months
\end{enumerate}

\vspace{0.5em}
\textit{Answer: (b)}
\end{frame}

• Use 4 options (a)-(d)
• All distractors should be plausible, not obviously wrong
• Avoid "all of the above" / "none of the above"
• Place the answer on the slide but consider using \only<2> overlay to reveal it on click

Slide design philosophy

Before generating any slide deck, read references/slide-rhetoric.md for principles on narrative structure, information hierarchy, and slide design. Apply these principles to every deck.